Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., quietly just changed the longstanding rules of the U.S. Senate and directed the Senate’s protocol officer to stop enforcing the longstanding dress code.
Schumer faced criticism for lowering the Senate’s standards from a suit and tie to appeal to Sen. John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat known for wearing basketball shorts to work.
“I’m not a fan of the hoodie, and I think it’s wrong that Schumer coddled Fetterman and ditched the basic Senate dress code,” former Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill., tweeted Monday.
In the past, Fetterman has avoided the dress code by voting from the Democratic cloakroom, instead of the Senate floor. Rather than put on a suit and tie, he just gestured “yay” or “nay” from the doorway, and then he ducked back out.
After the change, Fetterman may vote from the Senate floor
“Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor,” Schumer said in a statement to CBS News.
What’s more, Schumer reportedly changed the dress code only for the senators, not the staffers. It’s not too hard for the workers to dress nicely… but the establishment elites no longer have to bother grooming themselves.
Rules for thee, not for me.
The Senate’s dress code appears to be unwritten. As of Friday, Axios reporters haven’t found a copy in writing.
One commentator looked for a dress code last year and concluded, “I haven’t seen it in Riddick’s, nor in the Senate Manual, nor in the Chamber and Galleries Regulations. I’ve only seen it mentioned in passing in the media.”
Some senators have dressed informally even within the dress code. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema wore colorful wigs during the pandemic-era closures of hair salons.
Other senators have tested the limits of the dress code in the past. Politicians from the Sun Belt, like Sinema, have worn sleeveless dresses on the Senate floor in the summer, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, once arrived in gym clothes amid scheduling issues.
Still, the dress code is a tradition. Schumer himself intends to wear business attire even after announcing the change. “I will continue to wear a suit,” Schumer said in his statement.
The Senate will enact Schumer’s change later this week, one Senate official told Axios.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.